Cracking the Digital Ceiling

Many people assume computing is a field for men, or that men and women are naturally better suited to different professions. This edited volume pushes back on those Western assumptions, which are often offered to explain why so few women take part in computing. Drawing on contributors from around the world, it examines how cultural context shapes women's experiences in the field. Rather than attributing outcomes to innate ability, it presents theory and research pointing to environmental factors as the key to understanding who participates in this expanding area.

The book is meant as a call to action. It identifies the barriers and the sources of encouragement that exist in different cultures and settings, and it shows where those working to broaden participation might act, whether in classrooms, workplaces, or institutional administration. Its intended readers include computer scientists, STEM educators, students from any discipline, tech industry professionals, gender equity leaders, anthropologists, and policymakers.

Dr. Carol Frieze leads diversity and inclusion work at the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, where her focus is culture and broadening participation in computing. She co-wrote Kicking Butt in Computer Science: Women in Computing at Carnegie Mellon University (2015) and received the 2016 AccessComputing Capacity Building Award and the 2017 A. Nico Habermann Award from the Computing Research Association. Dr. Jeria L. Quesenberry is an associate teaching professor of information systems at Carnegie Mellon, researching cultural influences on IT students and professionals, social inclusion, and broadening participation. She is also a co-author of Kicking Butt in Computer Science.